Indian Institute of Management

  Ahmedabad  IIMA/PROD0305
 
Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited
Addressing his employees, Steve Jobs once said, “Our DNA is as a consumer company - for
that individual customer who's voting thumbs up or thumbs down. That's who we think
about. And we think that our job is to take responsibility for the complete user experience.
And if it's not up to par, it's our fault, plain and simple.”

Founded in 1987, the DNA of Agarwal Movers Group (AMG) was no different. A family-
owned and professionally run business, AMG was India’s leading logistics and solution
provider for household goods relocation.

In February 2015, the annual meeting of Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited (APML) was
nothing less than a celebration for the entire team. Their key service innovations helped in
successful implementation of novel packaging processes through which the company not
only reduced customer complaints but also absorbed the increase in packaging cost without
increase in freight cost. Mr Ramesh Agarwal, Chairman-cum-Managing Worker of AMG,
reflected upon the innovative approach followed by the organization to identify cost
effective solutions for packaging and relocating household goods. Without being
complacent, the APML team wondered if the innovation process was sustainable from the
point of view of the organization. In addition to this, the company was looking at
transforming the drive from a reactive (customer-complaint driven) to a proactive innovator
in the industry.

Background

In 1987, Ramesh Agarwal transported household goods for one of his ex-military seniors
from Hyderabad, which led to the foundation of Agarwal Household Carrier.

Over time, the company grew with experience, core competence, and confidence and
established itself as one of the India's largest household transportation companies. The
company’s name was soon changed to Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited. It had a fleet
of over 1,000 vehicles, 80 company-owned offices with headquarters in New Delhi. It was
an ISO 9001-2008 certified organization with a turnover value of over INR 3,820 million1 in
2013-14 and aspired to reach INR 20,000 million by the year 2020. It employed 1,173
employees at payroll with more than 4,000 people attached indirectly with the company. It
was amongst the only four companies in India to be certified by ISO 39001:2012, which
attested their contributions in road traffic safety. In 2012-13 APML was registered in Limca

                                                            
1 1$ = INR 63.44

Prepared by Professor Debjit Roy, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The author
acknowledges the support of Krishan Mittal (research intern, IIMA); Mahindra Trucks and Buses
Division; and Ramesh Agarwal, Navneet Agarwal, Sandhya Bhartiya, and other associates from
Agarwal Packers and Movers Limited in developing this case.
Cases of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, are prepared as a basis for classroom
discussion. They are not designed to present illustrations of either correct or incorrect handling of
administrative problems.
©2015 by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.  
2 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

Book of Records for transporting household goods of 61,302 clients (Exhibit 1). The core
values of APML were Aastha2, Apnapan3, Awesome, Aspiration, and Assurance.

Services by APML

 APM Domestic Moving: Performed packing, loading, moving, unloading, and

unpacking of the goods using convenient and good handling practices, all
coordinated by a centralized office in Delhi (India).
 APM International Moving: Provided relocation services to and fro for more than
200 countries and territories worldwide. The APML team conducted relevant
research on international client culture and regional etiquette to execute business
operations efficiently. Variety of packaging materials such as corrugated boxes (for
books and crockery), corrugated rolls, bubble wraps, tissue papers, thermocol,
corners, crates, and cases were used to prevent damage to the consignment.
 APM Home Storage: Involved storing client’s goods at destination for both long term
and short term. This applied to cases where client had not finalized the destination
for the goods or had to move to other places on temporary assignment.
 APM Car Carriers: Involved transportation of client’s car in its pristine condition
using safety measures such as safety chains and locks, wheel stoppers, and safety
belts.

Other Services

Apart from the above services, AMG also offered:

 APM Transportation: Involved employing a multi-modal transport model as

airways, seaways, railways or roadways depending on the purpose.
 APM Warehousing: Provided safe and convenient storage for computers, documents,
home furnishings, antiques, furs, linens, mattresses, electronic equipment, musical
instruments, and innumerable other items using facilities such as multiple loading
docks, provided with ample amount of space for staging of materials at the time of
receiving and shipping (Exhibit 2).
 APM Exim Cargo: Provided inter-modal transportation for the movement of export/
import containers through local transportation for both domestic and international
shipments.
 APM ODC (over dimensional cargo) Transportation: Involved movement of over
dimensional, heavy, and bulky cargo. This included telecom equipment/ towers and
rail coaches.
 APM Infrastructure: Provided infrastructure and roof-tech services to functional
domains such as commercial, agricultural, and industrial groups such as
warehouses, godowns, and large sheds using state-of-the-art technology to assure
durability, quality, and safety. Notable clients included Walmart.

APM Domestic Shifting

Agarwal Movers Group provided household relocation services under its flagship company,
APML. The revenues from relocation services accounted for over 60 per cent of total revenue
of AMG.

                                                            
2 Belief
3 Oneness
3 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

Organizational Structure

Ramesh Agarwal believed that while practice makes a man perfect, so if one practiced being
a server for his entire life, he can never become an owner. Therefore, in APML, the managers
at different levels were called Maliks literally meaning ‘owners’. Every branch had a Branch
Malik, while a group of branches was headed by a State Malik. For the purpose of ease of
operations, the country was divided in four zones. Rajender Agarwal, brother of Mr Ramesh
Agarwal and Vice Chairman and Head of operations managed the West, East and South
zone while the North zone was managed by Ramesh Agarwal (Exhibit 3).

Domestic Relocation Process

APML had standardized entire operational process in an organizational book detailing the
roles and functions of employees within each department. The process started when a client
made an enquiry for relocation, which came through any of the three mediums: website,
telephone or email. This enquiry was followed by a survey of the house to assess the volume
of goods that needed relocation. The survey could be either a physical assessment (98%) in
which the survey officer visited the client’s house to gather useful information about
relocation on the basis of pre-defined survey forms or through distance survey (2%) where
the client gathered the useful information himself by taking instructions from the survey
officer over the phone. The details were then entered into a mobile tablet by the survey
officers. Based on this form, a quotation was sent to the client detailing the cost of relocation.
After this, for 70 per cent cases, the booking was confirmed (sometimes, the client had to be
contacted 2-3 times). In case of a non-conformation, a feedback was taken from the client
asking about the reasons for not going ahead with the booking (Exhibit 4).

After confirmation, the process was divided into two parts: hospitality, which made the front
end of the process and operations, which made the back-end of the process. There were two
coordinators, who acted as intermediaries between the hospitality and the operations
department. These coordinators ensured smooth flow of information between the teams
internally.

The hospitality team comprised of about 20 people known as ‘Your Shifting Assistant’
(YSM). After confirmation, each client was assigned a YSM by APML, who served as the
single point of contact between the client and the company. His job was to keep the
customers informed about the location of their goods through telephone calls during various
phases of the goods transportation (Exhibit 4). The phases of the relocation process were:

 Phase I: Introduction call just after confirmation of the booking.

 Phase II: This call involved taking a feedback after packing was done.
 Phase III: During transit of goods, customers were called every alternate day to
inform them about the location of their goods.
 Phase IV: This call was to fix an appropriate delivery time based on client’s
convenience, after the goods reached the destination city.
 Phase V: This call was after the delivery and a feedback was taken from the client
about the overall experience with APML’s service.

The operations team comprised of a team of packers along with their supervisors at
individual branch office. They were responsible for packing and delivery operations
performed at the source and destination respectively (Exhibit 4). On confirmation of a
booking, the branch office at the originating city was informed where the Branch Malik
4 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

issued a duty slip, an inventory issue slip, and wrapping material for the job. A typical
packing team included four packers and one supervisor. However, other factors such as the
number of floors and distance between the house entry and the vehicle location affected the
number of packing team members. This team was responsible for packing and loading of
consignments. The goods were then transported from the origin branch office to the
destination branch office. At destination branch office, a duty slip and inventory collection
slip was issued and an unpacking team was assigned for unloading, unpacking, and re-
arranging the goods. They also collected the reusable packing material. The unpacking team
had the same composition as the packing team. After delivering the goods, feedback was
taken from the customer.

Cases of negative feedback post delivery of goods were handled by Customer Care
Department. Any customer claims were also handled centrally by the Customer Care
Department. The idea of having the customer care team centrally located was to have a
focused approach. Also, it facilitated observation of any patterns or trends in the
complaints/claims received across locations. While there were approximately 10 per cent
complaints on the total number of deliveries, only 2.5-3 per cent of these complaints were
requests for monetary settlements.

Figure 1: Domestic Relocation Process

(Start)   Job  Yes Assign Hospitality  Packaging  &  Delivery,  Feedback 

Client‐ Enquiry, Survey,  confirmed? & Operations  call  by  operations  &  Hospitality 
Quotation  Coordinators  (After packaging & Delivery) 

No 

Feedback seeking reason for 
non‐conformation 

No
Action plan, service innovation  Feedback call by  Feedback 
and implementation  Customer Service  positive? 

Yes 

Improved Service   Employee  Employee Incentive 

(End)  Motivation 

Source: Author’s representation

Employee Performance Appraisal

At APML, monthly performance appraisal was done at different levels based on the
feedback obtained from customers. In the hospitality department, performance score was
evaluated on the basis of appreciation given by the client. Shifting assistants got a score of 1,
4 or 6 based on the feedback by the customer.
5 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

In the customer care department, appraisal was done on the basis of a gain share matrix
which included both, the number of claims solved and the time taken to settle a claim. They
had internally set a 21 days deadline, the base time, within which a claim must be settled.

To ensure ‘zero mistakes’ at operational level, APML conducted a weekly branch meeting.
All the employees participated in this Saturday meeting. At the employee level, this meeting
provided a platform to be heard while at the supervisory level, this meeting was an
opportunity to assess and share the feedback with the employees.

APML also started ‘gain and share’ scheme in 2014, where a share of company’s profits was
distributed among the employees with the percentage of share depending on the percentage
of the target achieved by that particular branch office.

Also, in an attempt to treat all employees as partners in the company, APML had started an
incremental profit sharing scheme under which about 50-60 per cent of the relative
increment in APML’s profit (obtained from balance sheet) with respect to the previous year,
would be distributed to the employees while the rest would be distributed to the investors
or would be invested in shares. For instance, if APML’s current year profit was INR 300
million relative to last year’s profit of INR 250 million, then about 50 per cent of the increase
in profits i.e., about INR 25 million would be given to the employees.

Feedback and Claim Settlement Process

On 21st of every month, was denoted as the Claim Clearance Day, where all the claims and
customer feedback from the previous months were discussed and appropriate actions were
taken. The feedback was categorized into similar groups and the process to address the
client concerns was initiated (Exhibit 4). The feedback of groups was then sent to a core
committee, which was the think tank of APML. Problems confronted by the clients were then
identified and after careful discussion and research, a plan for improving service was
presented to the task head. Thereafter, the task head created an action plan for the
implementation of improved services throughout the country. After the creation of an action
plan, the systems head controlled the process of informing every branch in the country
about the modification to the services proposed by the central office. Lastly, the vigilance
department ensured that the improved processes and services were followed throughout the
country without any branch specific discrepancies.

During the innovation process, suggestions were sought from the entire team of APML. The
supervisor gathered the suggestions from the ground staff. This was the most elementary
but also the most crucial aspect of the entire process, as the ground staff was the one who
actually handled the materials. The supervisor would then share the suggestions with the
branch maliks, who in turn would share it with the State maliks. After having received the
ideas from all the branches, the state malik would filter out the ones which were feasible
from the organizational point of view and send them to the top management for their views
and further action. The top management would then compare the ideas with the objectives
for feasibility analysis and also check the market suitability of the suggested proposal. Once
the management review was done, it was forwarded to the Research and Development
(R&D) Team to materialize the proposal and do a prototype testing of the product on
ground. Based on the feedback of prototype, final changes, if any, were incorporated and
followed by universal implementation.
6 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

Service Innovations by APML

APML developed new processes and packaging methods to improve the service experience
on the basis of customer feedback. Interestingly, the innovations further decreased the true
operational cost. These innovations could be grouped into three categories:

1. Managing Packaging Cost

The cost of packaging material was about 20 per cent of the cost to the company in
transporting goods of an average 1 Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen (BHK) apartment (Exhibit 5).
Therefore, APML had to cut down on their packaging costs in order to maintain the price at
the same level (if not lower) and provide better customer service.

Increasing cost of corrugated sheet

Change in price of packaging materials had a significant impact on the freight cost charged
for the customer. APML had been using corrugated sheets for packing goods. For one
household packing, around two kg of packing material was required. With the rate of
corrugated sheets increasing upto INR 58 per two kg, the APML research team had to think
of an alternative, which would enable them to deliver service at a same or lower rate
without being affected by the price hike.

To find a feasible solution APML's R&D team focused all its attention on getting a material
which not only provided same cushioning effect as done by corrugated sheet but also
brought down the overall cost. In the process, APML developed a flexible sheet named
‘Fabric Sheet’ (Exhibit 6). The cost of production of the sheet was INR 180 per two kg but it
was reusable and could be used for six times making its effective cost to be INR 34 for a
single usage (including the cost of fabric wear and tear).

Use of fabric sheets was also a step towards conserving environment because it saved 300
trees (the number of trees cut to produce the annual requirement of corrugated sheets).

For full implementation of fabric sheet in the system of packing, a time period of 20 days
was set and this was also followed by training the packers about all specifications along with
the ways to handle it. Timely audits were then conducted to ensure compliance.

Increasing cost of cartons

APML used normal cartons to transport books and clothes, for which the cost was as high as
INR 72 per carton. To lower the costs, APML designed new trendy bags instead of cartons to
transport clothes and books. This led to reduced cost as the price of each trendy bag was
INR 38 only (Exhibit 6). Further, these bags created a strong brand recall because they had
the logo of APML printed on them and were left with the customer at the destination.

2. Managing Customer Feedback and Claims

APML’s mission was to achieve ‘Zero Claims, Zero Tension,’ i.e. minimize the number of
claims, and reduce the stress level to improve organizational productivity. Therefore, they
strived hard to deliver excellent customer service by reducing claim-related problems. At
APML, feedback was viewed as a powerful tool for reducing the claims thereby improving
services.
7 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

Increasing complaints about damage to LED Television

APML started receiving high number of complaints about malfunctioning of television sets
after 5-6 months of relocation. An in-depth study of all the relocations that happened in the
previous year revealed that during the transfer once the television was packed in the
wooden crate it had to be sealed using nails (Exhibit 6). In the process of sealing, the crate
was hammered 45-48 times causing damage to the delicate circuits of LED/ LCD televisions.
The problems reflected after a few months. It was clearly a problem with the method that
was being used for packing TVs.

Having identified the root problem, the R&D team at APML, under the guidance of
management, started working on possible combinations to offer a solution to the issue. After
15 days of research on designs, the team came up with a solution that also resulted in
reduced cost to the client. ‘LED Box’ was a box like container specifically designed to store
television sets during relocation process (Exhibit 6). The box was layered with soft cushion
from inside to provide extra protection to the screen, had a shock absorbing sheet, and was
rugged from outside to face the inclement weather conditions. On the cost part, the box was
a ‘win win’ situation for the company as well as its client. Since the manufacturing cost of a
wooden crate was INR 800 with just one time use; whereas an LED Box with a
manufacturing cost of INR 2,500 could be reused upto 14 times which brought down the
cost of one time use to INR 200. This benefit was ultimately passed on to the customers who
were now required to pay less for a much superior service.

Also, because of the innovation upto 160 trees were saved per year, which was very much
in line with APML’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objective.

Damage to fragile items such as crockery

In the course of its market research, APML's team came across certain customers who had
also used services of some other packers in the market. Feedback obtained revealed how
fragile items like crockery and glass decorative pieces got damaged during shifting.

The research team realized packing crockery items in normal cartons resulted in much
damage due to their fragile nature. Further, thermocol sheets used for initial wrapping
tended to break into small pieces (during handling, packing, as well as unpacking)
scattering all around. Hence, special boxes called ‘perfect boxes’ were introduced which
were foamed from inside for transporting fragile items ensuring their utmost safety (Exhibit
6).

This not only solved customer problems but also resulted in cost savings for the company.
The thermo-sheet packing cost was just INR 2.5 compared to thermocol packing cost of INR
7 saving 200 trees annually. The perfect boxes were sealed with security stickers. The
customer had to sign on the sticker after the packing process, which further enhanced the
customer’s trust in the company.

Samples were distributed among different branches for testing so as to know their suitability
in practice. Testing was done for a period of 15 days in different geographical locations and
with goods of variable fragility level. Once the assessment was over all samples were
evaluated and the best were selected. Also, some major modifications were made in the
internal specifications based on the feedback obtained during testing process.
8 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

After finalization of container, a span of 20 days was fixed to replace all existing cartons
used in packing.

Also, corner and side protection covers for cartons were used in order to strengthen them
(Exhibit 6).

Requirement for filler

Number of claims owing to the damage done to the clients’ motorcycle fuel tank during
transportation was rising. To address this, the most apparent solution was to use air-packed
containers, which would act as fillers and provide support during transportation. However,
they were expensive. Hence, APML had to think of an alternate solution which was cost
effective too.

Finally, APML team came up with an innovative idea to collect used cement bags, clean
them, fill them with grass and foam and then use them as filler. It provided a permanent and
effective solution to the problem and the production cost was only around INR 5 per bag.

Requirement for wardrobe carton

Special boxes called ‘Coat Carriers’ with pre-installed hanger were innovated (Exhibit 6).
These were meant to benefit those customers who wanted certain clothing items such as a
coat or a shirt to be transported unwrinkled at the destination for immediate use. The cost of
a hanger for coat carrier was INR 130 and it was reusable.

Packaging of religious items

APML faced a problem with some of its clients while packing their religious items. These
clients were very sensitive and wanted their religious items to be dealt with utmost care.
This was a matter of serious concern for APML team, who highly valued emotions of the
clients.

After giving it a considerable thought, certain guidelines were laid down for packers to pack
items of religious value. The packers were to first wash their hands and remove their shoes
before entering the pooja room4 of the house. They were also given behavioural training for
the same. Also, the carton containing religious idols and other items of worship was marked
with a newly designed Mandir5 sticker (Exhibit 6). This sticker distinguished the particular
carton from the other cartons. These cartons were the first to be packed in the packing list
and were always the last to be placed inside the truck. The same procedure was then
followed while unpacking the goods.

Potted plant carriers

While APML were experts in relocating household goods, there were demands from some
customers to also transport some of their potted plants, such as Tulsi6, which held a high
religious sentiment attached to them.

To satisfy the needs of such customers, APML customized its truck and fitted them with
special potted plant carriers (Exhibit 6) at the bottom of the truck which could carry
                                                            
4 Room of the house used for worship
5 Temple
6 Basil
9 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

customer’s plants safely and separately along with household goods. They were designed in
such a manner that the plants got fixed at a place where they were open to air and sun and
also the drivers were instructed to water the plants during their stoppages.

3. Managing Transport and Goods Storage Problems

Transportation cost had the highest share in the total cost of moving 1 BHK apartment at 40
percent (Exhibit 5). Therefore, APML needed to device ways to cut down on the
transportation cost.

Trans-shipment and storage problems

APML used 24ft double door trucks to transport goods, which could normally carry goods
of two customers. Although this was a very efficient system, trans-shipment was required in
some cases. Agarwal believed that reducing trans-shipment was the key behind reducing
damage to consignments. Also, there were certain situations where clients wanted their
goods to be stored at APML premises for a few days. This period would allow the client to
settle down in the new city. However, storing customer’s goods meant that the trucks could
not be used further, which meant loss of business. Hence, APML needed a solution to the
problem of storage of goods as well as the problem of trans-shipment.

To address both these concerns, the company’s R&D team after a month long discussion,
came up with a cost-effective solution called ‘Trucking Cubes’ (Exhibit 6). Trucking cubes
were independent units that could be easily latched on and unlatched off the trucks. These
cubes could also be used as car carriers for customers who wished to have their car
transported along with their goods. APML stored the customer’s goods in them for 21 days
at the destination without any additional charge. The cubes came in three sizes: 8 ft, 11ft,
and 16ft. The client’s goods were picked up at source through branch vehicle by either 20ft
or 16ft trucks. These cubes were then collected at the nearest hub (Exhibit 2). The goods were
next transported from the hub near to source to the destination hub via big 33ft trucks that
could carry 4, 3, or 2 cubes depending on the size of the cube. APML was currently in the
process of acquiring more of these cubes and 33ft trucks. The team analyzed that for efficient
functioning of the truck-cube system, 5 cubes on an average per truck were needed. Since 6
cubes were needed per truck for 11 ft cubes (3 for transit and 3 for storage) whereas 4 cubes
were needed per truck for 16 ft cubes (2 for transit and 2 for storage), an average of 5 cubes
was required for a single truck operation. While 33ft trucks would be purchased, the 20ft
and 16ft trucks would be acquired by modifying the existing trucks in order to make them
suitable to carry trucking cubes. They had 46 trucks and 100 cubes, and at the rate of
introducing 50 new cubes per month, they aspired to reach their target of 1,000 cubes and
200 trucks.

Trucking cubes also helped to reduce cost in the long term. Agarwal mentioned that
trucking cubes reduced the overall operating cost by 18-20 per cent, including 20 per cent
annual fuel savings (volume in litres). The cost savings included toll tax savings and fuel
(diesel) savings because the new 33 ft trucks incurred only half of the toll tax and consumed
half of the fuel (diesel) compared to the 40 ft trucks earlier used as car carriers. Cost saving
was also due to the fact that, with effectively 3 cubes attached to a truck, a single truck was
doing the work of 3 individual trucks used earlier, thereby reducing the transportation cost
to one-third of the previous value. The total investment on trucking cubes was around INR
400 million with breakup as INR 110-120 million on cubes, INR 210 million on trucks, and
10 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

INR 60 million on secondary trucks (around 80 secondary trucks). The cost of an individual
truck was around INR 1.1 million which included a customization cost of INR 0.1 million.

Thefts on highways

There were many cases of thefts on highways in certain areas such as Madhya Pradesh
where some groups were involved in thefts even on moving vehicles. APML had to think of
a solution to curtail these thefts.

In order to counter these thefts, the carriers were fitted with a separate top and bottom lock
which would make thefts very difficult. This customization was done at body shop located
in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Total cost of customization was around INR 400 which
included bolt charges of INR 100, labour charges of INR 100, and sheet charges of INR 200.

Also, ‘lashing belts’ were used at the back of trucks in order to securely hold the goods and
prevent any accident to the worker while unloading. While the cost of each belt was INR 90,
there were 12 belts required for a single truck making the total customization cost for a
single truck to be INR 1,080.

Driver exhaustion and lack of motivation

According to Agarwal, truck driver was the driving force behind the country’s economy.
However, truck driver’s job was not considered respectable in India; hence very few second
and third generation youth considered it as a career option. As a result, there were only 770
drivers per 1,000 trucks.

To boost the morale of drivers in APML, Agarwal launched a scheme called ‘Khub Chalao
Khub Kamao’ meaning ‘Drive More, Earn More.’ Under this scheme, drivers were given
incentive to drive more by paying them extra for every kilometre driven.

However, this scheme led to use of increased speed by the drivers, damaging the
consignments. Further, the scheme also incentivized more driving hours per day, leading to
driver sleep deprivation and accidents. To arrest this situation, APML had to think of a more
innovative solution, which would not only increase the performance level of drivers but also
boost safe driving practices.

Keeping in mind the safety concern, a modified ‘Khub Chalao Khub Kamao’ scheme was
launched. It proposed that the driver could recruit a co-driver to drive with him. Incentives
were given based on the number of hours for which a truck was driven rather than the
distance travelled. The time driven by the truck was monitored using a Global Positioning
System (GPS) device, which also checked the speed of truck and ensured that drivers do not
increase their speed above 50kmph. Under this scheme, while APML paid INR 2 per km
driven to drivers, in case of driving for more than 15 hours, additional incentive of INR
15,200 was awarded (this was to be shared between the two drivers). This scheme not only
ensured that output of each truck was doubled (because the truck now ran for double the
time by two drivers as compared to a single driver) but also reduced the problem of
highway thefts, as there was more vigilance in the presence of two drivers as compared to
one.
11 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

Looking Back

APML had always taken customer feedback constructively and used it to modify and
enhance their existing service resulting in decrease in the cost incurred by the customer and
therefore customers’ delight. Agarwal wondered whether the existing processes for
implementing innovative solutions were sufficient for APML to remain a domestic location
leader.
12 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

EXHIBIT 1
APML Awards

Limca Book of Records Certificate ISO 39001:2012 Certificate

Source: Company records

 13 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

EXHIBIT 2
Warehouse Details and Location of Hubs and Warehouses

Every warehouse has a similar structure:

Basement: Industrial Storage

Ground Floor: Short Term/Transit Storage

First Floor: Long Term Storage

Second Floor: Complimentary residential facility for warehouse workers

Map showing location of completed warehouses and hubs

Legend: 

Ambala – NH‐73        : Hub 

Gurgaon       : Warehouse 
Gurgaon – Jamalpur and 
Khawaspur  Palwal – NH‐2

Jaipur – NH‐8 

Dharuhera – NH‐73 

Ahmedabad 
Indore 

Kolkata 
Mumbai – NH‐4 

Mumbai  Hyderabad 

Bengaluru 
Chennai 

Source: Company records

14 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

EXHIBIT 3
Organizational Structure

Board (8)*

Ramesh Agarwal Rajender Agarwal

Group Chairman Vice Chairman
Head North Head West/East/South

State Malik (7) State Malik (7)

Branch Malik (50) Branch Malik (45)

Source: On the basis of interview

*Number in parenthesis indicates the total number of employees in that division
15 of 20 IIMA/PROD0305 

EXHIBIT 4
Domestic Relocation Process of APML

Confirmation Process

Survey  A
Large load e.g., 1 BHK 
Customer Enquiry:  Customer  apartment 
is 
 Website  contacted 
 Call  (IVR)  On the spot 
 Email 
Very Small Load e.g., a  quotation over  B
student  the phone (QTN) 

A Enter 
Physical  Quotation 
information in 
Survey (QTN) 
98%  tablet 

Survey 
B

2% 
Distance  Email quotation 
Survey (QTN) 

B Yes by customer  Confirmed 
2‐3 times
(70% success rate) 

QTN  Recalling 

No by customer Cancelled 

Feedback 
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Hospitality Process

Phase I  Phase II Phase III 

Your Shifting  Introduction  Call after packing  Call on alternate days to 
Assistant  Call  has been done  inform clients about 
Assigned  taking feedback  location of their goods 

Phase V Phase IV 
Call after unpacking  Call asking for fixing an 
asking for an  appropriate delivery 
appreciation  time 

Operations Process

Confirmation  Origin Branch  Duty Slip Packing team and material 

Office  Inventory Issue Slip  assigned 

Unpacking team  Transit 
assigned and reusable  Duty Slip Destination  Transportation of goods 
packing material  Branch Office  from origin to destination 
Inventory Collection Slip
collected 

Customer Feedback 
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Service Innovation Process and Implementation

Customer  Categorization  Core committee  Innovation  Task head 

Feedback  Grouping 

   Action plan 
Controlling 
activity  Systems head 
Vigilance 

Source: On the basis of interview

EXHIBIT 5
Cost Breakup of Relocation Process

Cost share in movement of 1 BHK apartment from Delhi to Ahmedabad:

Packaging cost: 16%

Transportation cost: 40%

Labour cost: 10%

Overhead cost (Your shifting assistant, supervision and other): 7%

FOV (Risk cover charge): 1%-3%

Surplus charges: 10%

Remaining cost share which is around 12.5% accounts for the company profit.

Source: On the basis of interview

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EXHIBIT 6
Service Innovations

Before Innovation After Innovation

Corrugated Sheets Fabric Sheets

Wooden Crate LED TV Box

Corrugated Box Perfect Box

Thermocol Thermo-sheet

Not present Corner Protection Cover

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Cartons Trendy Bags

Coat Carrier

Not present

Mandir Sticker

Not present
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Potted Plant Carriers

Not Present

Single Door Truck Double door truck with front and back door

Trucking Cubes

Source: Company records